Various methods of holding file folders are well known. One common method of storing filing folders is to employ drawer-type filing cabinets. Where space is not a concern, front facing drawer-type filing cabinets are frequently used. Front facing filing cabinets allow a clerk to pull open the drawer and leaf through the file folders until the desired file is found. Where space is a concern, such as in a hallway or corridor, side facing drawer-type filing cabinets are employed. Side facing filing cabinets allow the clerk to open the drawer and access the file folder from its side or front depending upon how the file is stored in the drawer. However, use of drawer-type filing cabinets is inefficient in that the drawer must be pulled away from the cabinet in order to access the file folders. The drawers also add to the cost of such filing systems.
Open-face shelf filing systems have been developed in order to overcome the need for opening and closing a drawer-type filing cabinet and reduce the cost thereof. Typically, open-face shelf filing systems are constructed so that the file folders have exposed vertical edges. The clerk only has to approach the shelf filing system and locate the desired file folder. To assist in locating the desired file folder, the vertical edges of the file folders typically have color coded marking indicia attached thereto for easy identification. It is also known that the side panels of open-face shelf filing systems can be slanted at an angle so that the vertical edges of the file folders are more easily visualized. In order to provide the open face shelf filing systems with the required structural strength, it is well known to provide the shelves and side panels with right angle flanges. It is also well known that dividers can be vertically disposed on the shelves for the purpose of classifying groups of files in the filing system and to provide additional structural strength.
Although the open-face shelf filing system is effective for storing file folders, it is apparent that the current construction has several drawbacks. Primarily, the right angle flanges used to increase shelf strength reduce the amount of usable file folder space. Moreover, the right angle flanges overhang adjacent shelves so that the file folders on the adjacent shelves tend to catch and become worn as they are inserted or extracted. Another drawback of current open-face shelf filing systems is that the vertical dividers employed are often of a non-uniform construction from one divider to the next and therefore do not provide reliable structural support to adjacent shelves.
Based upon the foregoing, it is evident that there is a need in the art for an open-face shelf filing system with low profile shelves and side panels which has the same structural strength as previous filing systems. There is also a need to provide a file holder with dividers that have consistent center-to-center spacing between supporting flanges so that the dividers provide supporting structural integrity to the filing system.